I'm going to do something a little different now, instead of reviewing a movie, I'm going to review The Wire, one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows of the decade, maybe even ever. I've come to the show late and have just finished watching the first 2 seasons, so I'm reviewing both seasons below:
The Wire
Season 1 & 2 Review
"Explosive, touching and hilarious"
- Watch Tower
Where to begin? This is a show packed full of great characters, even better dialogue, terrific story telling and a deeper, political message about segregation within the United States. It also features a fair few genre cliches, corrupt police officers and government officials, the alcoholic detective trying to piece together a broken family but the cliches are often balanced out by bold (at the time) decisions, such as having a lesbian police officer or excessive drug use and violence. In many ways, The Wire is the inspiration and the trend setter for all future, HBO, multi-faceted, adult and violent stories. I don't think it's too far fetched to think, that if The Wire had never been made, we may never have seen such shows as Treme or Game of Thrones.
The show initially centers around Det. Jimmy McNulty, played by a charming, swaggering Dominic West. There are a number of characters and actors who round off the cast but it isn't until we're introduced to Michael K. William's Omar that you truly see the shows potential. Omar is dangerous, violent but contains the sort of ethics that many Hollywood criminals seem to posses. He steals but he does so only from drug dealers...he kills but only in retaliation. Did I mention he is a homosexual? How many tough guys, on TV anyway, are portrayed like this? I can't pick any.
Season one tells the story of a certain Avon Barksdale (let down by a mediocre Wood Harris), one of the biggest and most powerful drug lords in Baltimore. The first half of the season shows a small group of detectives, all drafted in to sort out this problem called Barksdale, trying to get a foothold in the investigation, all the while side stepping political manouvering from the powers that be. Barksdale is invisible, no criminal records, no photos, he's a ghost in Baltimore and Det. McNulty and co. have no idea how to get to him. That is until Lester Freemon, played as a cool, calm, collected shadow in the dark by Clarke Peters, manages to find a lead.
This is where the series and it's creator David Simon excel, they put some of the coolest (hate to keep using that word) characters ever on screen. Each one swaggers and oozes ice, each one has a wicked sense of humour too. It's beautiful scripting, which really has to be seen to be fully appreciated. One particular highlight is from the opening scene of episode 1, where McNulty is having a conversation with with a man living in one of Baltimore's ghettos about another man who has just been killed:
McNulty: Let me understand. Every Friday night, you and your boys are shooting craps, right? And every Friday night, your pal Snot Boogie… he'd wait til there's cash on the ground and he'd grab it and run away? You let him do that?
Man On Stoop: We'd catch him and beat his ass but ain't nobody ever go past that.
McNulty: I gotta ask ya: If every time Snotboogie would grab the money and run away, why'd you even let him in the game?
Man On Stoop: What?
McNulty: If Snotboogie always stole the money, why'd you let him play?
Man On Stoop: Got to. This America, man.
Or how about D'Angelo Barksdale and cousin of Avon, speaking on capitalism:
D'Angelo: "Now you think Ronald McDonald gonna go down to the basement and say, "Hey Mr. Nugget - you the bomb. We sellin' chicken faster than you can tear the bone out. So I'm gonna write my clowney ass name on this fat-ass check for you." ****. Man, the ***** who invented them things? Still working in the basement for regular wage...Believe."
And this is just a little taster of what The Wire does best, dialogue so sharp your TV screens will need stitches. But not everything is said in jest, as Simon's said in several interviews, The Wire is a show about "how institutions have an effect on individuals, and how... whether you're a cop, a longshoreman, a drug dealer, a politician, a judge [or] lawyer, you are ultimately compromised and must contend with whatever institution you've committed to." All dressed up in the guise of a cop drama.
Season 2 is easily the better of the two, it features many new characters with a large chunk of the story centering on the white, Polish/Greek/Israeli/Russian gangs and gangsters of the Baltimore docks. The tone couldn't be more different, with Barksdale and his second in command Stringer Bell, played by a certain Idris Alba in his first major role, taking a backseat. This is a risky move, akin to if Lost Season 2 had put the likes of Jack, Kate and Sawyer on the substitute's bench. It's risky but then again, The Wire can do it because it creates so many other relatable characters which are instantly likable, even the shady drug dealers and pimps.
I didn't mention Alba's turn in Season one mainly because he didn't have much to do but scowl, growl and be the general to Avon's president but here, without giving away too much, Idris Alba is in his element. He is vicious yet thoughtful, fearsome yet careful, violent but always calm. It's almost as if this role is an audition for his turn as Luther. But once again, the scenes that really stand out are the ones that contain McNulty and his drinking partner Bunk, or Omar, or the sharp back and forth between two "side" characters I've barely spoken about, Herc and Carver, the odd couple of the show and probably it's most endearing love story (kidding...kinda).
So, there you have it, so many interesting characters and stories that I can only fit in a handful. The show features a running theme of terrorism or it's supposed threat, of under financing within police departments that matter and incompetent leaders. This is a great show, not quite the best show ever, as some people call it, then again I've only seen 2 of the 5 seasons on offer but it is certainly an intriguing bit of television. In fact, it's a must watch for everyone of you who may have missed the show in it's original run.
Just another little gem to leave you with:
Daniels: [to Major Valchek] I'll tell you the truth Major. Everyone who saw the punch wrote on it. And they've all got Prez throwing the punch, no question. They've also got you addressing a subordinate officer as uh, what was it? A ****-bird?
Valchek: **** you. This is the Baltimore Police Department, not the Roland Park Ladies Tea.
Final Verdict (Seasons 1 & 2)
8/10